So, BMW Motorsport, being the sly devils they are, decided to bend the rules for the second time and race a car they don't even make the basic effort to sell as they did with the E46 M3 GTR. That being a Z4 with a V8. The Z4 GTE based on the Z4 GT3 will no doubt do extremely well but it is a cop out to not so much as sell an M version of this car. Come on BMW, all of your competition sells a car based on what it is racing. You are bending the rules. Give us a Z4 M with a V8 or look like hypocrites.

Motorsport direct Jens Marquardt stated regarding the Z4 GTE, “With the BMW Z4 GTE, we are starting a new chapter in North America alongside BMW Team RLL. We have celebrated magnificent victories and titles with the BMW M3 GT and BMW Team RLL over the past four years. The BMW Z4 GTE has everything it needs to continue this success story.”

Bobby Rahal who is the team principal has this to say, "“All of us at BMW Team RLL are very excited about the 2013 season with the new BMW Z4 GTE. We had four great years with the BMW M3 GT and now want to compete on a par with our rivals with the BMW Z4 GTE as soon as possible. With any new car there is going to be a period of development, but we are excited about the upcoming season. This will be our fifth year with BMW and it’s obvious we have a great working relationship. In fact, some of the members of the team are in Munich working side-by-side with BMW Motorsport building the cars. We share the same approach in terms of our desire to be successful and it’s a real honour and privilege to represent BMW in motorsport.”

Ya, ya, ya. You are all excited. BMW Motorsport fans are happy BMW is not quitting as they often do when things don't go their way. But the BMW M fan is left out in the cold once again. Race a Z4 V8 on Sunday, sell a 550GT on Monday. Come on BMW, deliver the goods.

The car will debut in Sebring in March. Bill Auberlen, Joey Hand, and Dirk Muller will be the drivers. Due to DTM commitments, Joey Hand will not partake in every race. A new driver named Maxime Martin from Belgium who is 26 years old will join the team.

The heart of all cars is the engine, and it is fair to say that BMW Motorsport has built one that really ticks. The P65, as it is known internally, is based on the S65 production motor with some serious upgrades. The displacement of 4.0 liters has been unchanged (72.5 x 92 millimetres with 500 ccm per cylinder), but the crank is upgraded to a dual plane steel version and the pistons have forged skirts to keep up with rigors of racing at the highest levels. A dry sump oil system is employed to keep all the friction at bay, with the aluminum storage tank mounted to the rear of the engine (where the transmission is normally). This high revving V8 breathes through eight individual throttle bodies being fed by a carbon fiber airbox. With all of that and some more tricks the P65 produces over 500 horsepower and hits 60 in 3.4 seconds.

A 6-speed sequential racing gearbox delivers the power, while widened and highly adjustable front and rear suspensions manage the balance of the chassis.

Additional racing gear, including wider 18-in. slick tires, larger brakes and the requisite safety equipment, also has been added.

You said BMW made a basic effort to sell the E46 M3 GTR but they only ever sold 10 of those at $250,000. I know this isn't what you have in mind, so I absolutely agree with you that BMW should make a Z4 M with the S65 V8 and sell it as a regular M model at $75-80,000. I honestly doubt we will ever see such a car for a few reasons, the first of which being BMW's reluctance to keep naturally aspirated V8s in production. I'm sure moving to forced induction was a tough choice for the M3 and M5, if they had any other choice I'm sure the engineers would have wanted to keep an N/A motor so the fact that they switched to turbocharging proves that they really had their backs up against the wall. So with the S65 off the table, what would power a Z4 M? They could do what they did with the 1M and use the overboosted N54, but there already is a Z4 35is with that motor and I would hope that a Z4 M would have a minimum of 400 horsepower if not more. My theory is that they don't want to give it the F80 M3's new turbocharged straight six before the M3/M4 comes to market (although they did exactly that with the X5/X6 M before the M5) so I'm thinking, if we do see a Z4 M, it will come out some time after the F80 M3 and will have the same motor. This is the only logical reason I can think of to explain the absence of a Z4 M for so long, the Z3 M and previous Z4 M weren't volume sellers but it seems odd that BMW would ignore this opportunity to compete with the Boxster/Cayman and other similar sports cars when they're so busy trying to fill every other niche in the market.

So I guess I went way off topic, but my point is they already committed to ending the S65's life with the E92 M3 so we won't see a Z4 with that motor. I don't know why the governing body keeps letting BMW slide on these homologation rules and I wish BMW would grow a pair and just sell us the car with the motor we want, but I just don't see it happening.

Hey Sticky. Happy New Year to you and yours. I don't want to rewrite my previous post about what I thought BMW AG should build and price an E89 M Roadster. If they followed the timeline of the E82 1M this is feasible. We want one last naturally aspirated M car in the form of a roadster. They should send the S65B40 or the engine we all want in a blaze of glory, or the perfect S65B44 from the E92 M3 GTS. Let's get moving on this!!!

Hey Sticky. Happy New Year to you and yours. I don't want to rewrite my previous post about what I thought BMW AG should build and price an E89 M Roadster. If they followed the timeline of the E82 1M this is feasible. We want one last naturally aspirated M car in the form of a roadster. They should send the S65B40 or the engine we all want in a blaze of glory, or the perfect S65B44 from the E92 M3 GTS. Let's get moving on this!!!

I'm 100% with you but I don't have that kind of pull. Maybe we can write ALMS and tell them this is BS and they should force BMW to do it?

You said BMW made a basic effort to sell the E46 M3 GTR but they only ever sold 10 of those at $250,000.

That's a basic effort though isn't it? At least there was a physical car.

Originally Posted by Remonster

I know this isn't what you have in mind, so I absolutely agree with you that BMW should make a Z4 M with the S65 V8 and sell it as a regular M model at $75-80,000.

Yep, this would be perfect.

Originally Posted by Remonster

I honestly doubt we will ever see such a car for a few reasons, the first of which being BMW's reluctance to keep naturally aspirated V8s in production. I'm sure moving to forced induction was a tough choice for the M3 and M5, if they had any other choice I'm sure the engineers would have wanted to keep an N/A motor so the fact that they switched to turbocharging proves that they really had their backs up against the wall.

They don't need to design a new motor, the S65 still exists and is being produced. It wouldn't require new engineering. So the S65 should be on the table.

Originally Posted by Remonster

This is the only logical reason I can think of to explain the absence of a Z4 M for so long, the Z3 M and previous Z4 M weren't volume sellers but it seems odd that BMW would ignore this opportunity to compete with the Boxster/Cayman and other similar sports cars when they're so busy trying to fill every other niche in the market.

The 550GT is a crap seller and they still make it. I mean a Z4M would at least show they are still interested in enthusiast models instead of sales. That in mind is worth the loss but they wouldn't take on as a Z4 M would sell.

They don't need to design a new motor, the S65 still exists and is being produced. It wouldn't require new engineering. So the S65 should be on the table.

So what will they do when the S65 does end production, which honestly isn't that far off. Every production engine will soon be FI. I honestly think they are screwed, unless IMSA/ACO allow them to just run a one off non-production based motor (which would be total BS).

So what will they do when the S65 does end production, which honestly isn't that far off. Every production engine will soon be FI. I honestly think they are screwed, unless IMSA/ACO allow them to just run a one off non-production based motor (which would be total BS).

What did they do with the 1M when the N55 was already in other cars including the 135i?

It wouldn't be a big deal at all. The Z4M went on when the E46 M3 ended.

Le Mans is the pinnacle. All the teams in ALMS dream of the 24hr race. A lot of the US based teams just don't have the money to go over there. It is logistical nightmare. Corvette racing gets a lot props for going over there each year and being very successful. RLL will never go over there, they simply won't spend the money. Even last year when they had automatic entrys into the race.

Le Mans is the pinnacle. All the teams in ALMS dream of the 24hr race. A lot of the US based teams just don't have the money to go over there. It is logistical nightmare. Corvette racing gets a lot props for going over there each year and being very successful. RLL will never go over there, they simply won't spend the money. Even last year when they had automatic entrys into the race.

I agree with Le Mans being the pinnacle race but I prefer to watch what unfolds over a season. Some bad luck can cost you Le Mans.

I should point out that I was just trying to understand BMW's point of view on this. If I was in charge, I would have created a true Z4 M with an S65 from the beginning but then again, there are a ton of things I'd be doing differently.